PR spending forecast to grow through 2014

August 17, 2010

Public relations and word-of-mouth marketing will register a compound annual growth rate of 9.7 percent between 2009 and 2014, reaching $8.01 billion, says a new forecast from the private-equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS). According to the VSS Communications Industry Forecast 2004-2014, total communications-industry spending will increase 3.5 percent in 2010 and post a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent in the 2009-2014 period, to $1.416 trillion, driven by a gradual economic recovery, advances in digital technology and other trends.

But solid gains in PR and word-of-mouth marketing won’t mitigate sluggish growth in traditional marketing segments such as business-to-business promotions and consumer promotions, the forecast predicts. Growth is expected in sectors such as business and professional information and services, targeted media, entertainment and leisure media, and in the pure-play consumer Internet and mobile-services segment. According to the VSS forecast, communications-industry spending will retain its position as the fourth-largest industry in 2014, but slip to ninth place in terms of growth during the forecast period due to continued weakness in traditional advertising and marketing services.

The longstanding mass-media model of one-to-many is being challenged by the new model that targets individual and niche audiences. Consumers and business end-users will take more control over the information and entertainment they wish to consume through wireless devices such as computer tablets, eBooks and mobile phones. Online social networking will also continue to rise, the forecast predicts, and marketing strategies that let brands connect emotionally with captive audiences will continue to receive a growing share of marketing budgets. — Greg Beaubien

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